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From: Bob Quesal
Date: 10/17/03
Time: 12:24:45 PM
Remote Name: 143.43.201.67
Hi Darrell:
Thanks for the great comments. I'll try to address them as best I can.
I agree with what you are saying. (I have not been asked to review any of the brain research, so I cannot comment on that aspect of your question.) However, it gets down to the age-old issue, in my opinion. "Fear" cannot be quantified in a way such that "fear-related" brain activity could be parsed out from other brain activity. At least that's what I believe. I have no doubt that the brains of people who stutter are showing not only fear-related activity, but also the "cognitive filtering" that goes on from constantly evaluating speaking situations, listeners, words, sounds, etc. But believing it and proving it are two different things.
There is no question that one of the biggest challenges we face (and have faced for as long as I have been in the profession) is finding ways of making the "unobservables" more real (and measurable) to folks who don't stutter. It is very, very easy to be dismissive of things when you have not experienced them. Those of us who have experienced the "unobservables" of stuttering know they are important - we just have to find ways to show others that they are important. And the "others" I am referring to are those who have to be given hard proof of these things, not just somebody's word.
I hope this addressed at least part of your question.
Bob Quesal